Now that is is January, I noticed that alot of my fellow bloggers have been thinking about spring. Do you have a corner of your yard or patio that needs some sprucing up? It is never to early to start planning what you are going to do in your garden this year. Now is the time to start picking up gardening and landscaping magazines. Head to the library or bookstore and pick up some garden decorating books. Watch some gardening show on HGTV. Snuggle by the cozy fireplace and start planning your summer garden.

Are your flower beds getting stale? Need to pump them up with some new plants? Start researching plants that are native to your area. Native plants have the best chance of surviving in your environment. Maybe you have a part of your patio or yard that is currently an eyesore…A fence that needs replacing, a stucture that was there when you bought your home, but never should have been there. This is the perfect time to start drawing up plans to replace that eyesore. Take the time to layout your new design. Do some research on materials you might need. Try going as green as possible, to protect our environment. Head out to nurseries, landscaping centers and home improvement stores. See what they offer, get cost quotes. Before you know it spring will be here and you will be ready to go!

And remember…your project doesn’t have to be completed all at once. We had inherited a terrible lattice stucture that was falling down. The composter and propane tank we visable and not very attactive. The first picture shown here is the AFTER…the second picture shows the BEFORE and the third picture shows the DURING. Break it down into sections based on your time and available money for the project. The before and after project I show here was done in several steps. First the planning. Then the tearing down of the old structure. Next the new fence went up. And finally the BEGINNING landscaping went in, along with some furniture. We did this project last summer and fall. This spring we will add more plants and some garden accessories. I will update this post when we do.

So, start planning! Spring will be here before you know it! Please click on any picture to enlarge.